Josef Hlávka and the residence in Chernivtsi

Goal: To explain that Hlávka designed the metropolitans' residence in which a university works today, and why it matters to say this precisely.

Lesson plan

1. 3 min · Introduction. Show a photo of Chernivtsi University. Ask the class who might have built it. Listen to their guesses, then say that today you will test a common claim: "a Czech built a Ukrainian university".
2. 4 min · Who was Hlávka. Introduce Josef Hlávka (1831–1908): a Czech architect, builder and patron. He studied in Prague and Vienna. In Prague his name is linked with the maternity hospital near St Apollinaris and the Hlávka student residences, Hlávkovy koleje.
3. 5 min · The building in Chernivtsi. Give each group a card: when, what for, what today. Group 1: built 1864–1882. Group 2: first a residence of the Orthodox metropolitans of Bukovina and Dalmatia, not a university. Group 3: now Yuriy Fedkovych University, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2011. Groups report briefly.
4. 3 min · Wrap-up. Together, form an accurate sentence: Hlávka designed the complex in which a university is housed today. Add that in 1871 supervision of the construction passed to another architect. Discuss the questions and set the task.

Facts

• Josef Hlávka (1831–1908) was a Czech architect, builder and patron; he was born in Přeštice and died in Prague. N0016
• He trained in Prague and completed his studies at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna. N0016
• Hlávka designed the Residence of Bukovinian and Dalmatian Metropolitans in Chernivtsi, built between 1864 and 1882. N0016
• In the 19th century Chernivtsi belonged to Austrian Bukovina. The complex belonged to an Orthodox church institution and was not designed as a teaching building; the university has used it since the 20th century. N0016
• Today the complex houses Yuriy Fedkovych Chernivtsi National University, and it was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2011. N0016
• According to the Biographical Dictionary of the Czech Lands, in 1871 illness and disagreements with the local administration led Hlávka to give up supervision; the architect Feliks Księżarski took over. N0016

Questions to discuss

1. Why is the statement "Hlávka built the university" inaccurate, and how can we say it more precisely?
2. How does our view of a building change when we know what it was first made for?
3. Why is it important to protect the shared heritage of several nations together?

Task

Find Chernivtsi and Prague on a map. Write three sentences about what links the two cities in Hlávka's story. You may draw a sketch of the building and add the year construction began.